Friday, November 24, 2017

Elegant Anderson Valley Pinot For The Holidays

Four Ferrari-Carano wines were recently featured in an online virtual tasting session, of which I was invited to be a part. The presentation was hosted by Chelsea Kurnick of McCue Communications and associate winemaker Rebecka Deike. She handles the winery's red wine program. She started out wanting to be an optometrist, but saw her focus change to a wine career.

The 2014 Ferrari-Carano Anderson Valley Pinot Noir was aged for ten months in French oak and has an alcohol number of 14.5% abv. Online tasters thought the wine would be a natural to pair with salmon, chicken, beef bourguignon and holiday ham. Pinot Noir is often mentioned as a versatile wine that fits nicely on the holiday table, and this one will be quite at home there.

This tasty Pinot surprised me a bit. I approach California versions of the varietal apprehensively, often disappointed with their lack of grace and ham-fisted ways. The Ferrari-Carano 2014 Anderson Valley Pinot gets it right, and it's not the first from the AVA that I have liked. Aromas of black cherry are undercut with a savory cola note. The palate is smooth and elegant, with enough tannin for turkey but not enough to melt the cranberry sauce. The black tea flavor is among the most gorgeous of the kind I've experienced.